Ruby Creek

The Ruby Creek is a gold mine located in Alaska.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

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Site Name

Primary: Ruby Creek

Commodity

Primary: Gold

Location

State: Alaska
District: Council

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Not available

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold
Gangue: Garnet
Gangue: Magnetite

Comments

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au-PGE (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Probably inactive

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary; the numerous incised terraces along the Casadepaga River and its major tributaries indicate that more than one cycle of erosion and deposition has developed placer deposits in the area. The low elevations between 170 and 270 feet along the first 11 miles of the river, suggest that Quaternary sea level fluctuations could have influenced placer development.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = Ruby Creek was an important and heavily worked creek in the early history of the area (Brooks and others, 1901). It is incised in its lower reaches and both the active channel and some bench placers have been mined. Some of the gold was coarse (a 1/4 ounce nugget was reported) and had a fineness of 946. The gravels in the lower creek were thin, 2 to 3 feet, and gold-bearing throughout. The creek gets its name from the abundant garnet in heavy mineral concentrates. A large part of this creek was mined by 1907 (Smith, 1910). The headwaters of Ruby Creek are underlain by a lower Paleozoic metasedimentary assemblage (Till and othes, 1986).

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Smith, 1910

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Almost all the creek gravels had been worked by 1907. Sainsbury and others (1972, OFR 511) show placer tailings to be present over the lower 2 miles of Ruby Creek.

References

Reference (Deposit): Brooks, A.H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., 1901, Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900: U.S. Geological Survey Special Publication, p. 1-180.

Reference (Deposit): Smith, P.S., 1910, Geology and mineral resources of the Solomon and Casadepaga quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 433, 234 p.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic resources map of the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-445, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Till, A.B., Dumoulin, J.A., Gamble, B. ., Kaufman, D.S., and Carroll, P.I., 1986, Preliminary geologic map and fossil data, Soloman, Bendeleben, and southern Kotzebue quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 86-276, 10 p., 3 plates, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Sainsbury, C.L., Hudson, T.L., Ewing, R., and Marsh, W.R., 1972, Reconnaissance geologic maps of the Solomon D-5 and C-5 quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 511, 12 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Solomon quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-181, 185 p.

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